LONDON—The pace of recovery in Britain's labor market slowed around the turn of the year, official data showed Wednesday, strengthening the Bank of England's case for keeping interest rates low to nurture a speedier recovery.

A mixed labor report from the Office for National Statistics showed the unemployment rate edged up in the three months to December to 7.2% from 7.1% in the previous three months, a rise that took analysts by surprise. But a timelier gauge of labor market activity, also published Wednesday, showed the...